The Lincoln Conspirator

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A Memorial's History

The Lincoln Memorial nearly sank in the swamp of politics. Here, a look at the history of its construction.

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A highway is "nearer to expressing the epoch of American history than any other form of memorial," said Borland, who emphasized that a road was unanimously endorsed by the Grand Army of the Republic, whose members were Union veterans. The Greek temple is the most hackneyed form of architecture known, he added. Another called the memorial "utterly useless."

Rep. Samuel McCall of Massachusetts, defended its design, saying: "There is nothing more beautiful in architecture than the column of the Greek . . . It illustrates dignity, beauty, simplicity and strength," all qualities that Lincoln represented.

Knowing that aesthetic arguments weren't likely to sway members, Brown had prepared a cost estimate for the Lincoln highway, which Rep. Lynden Evans of Illinois used effectively during the debate. "It will cost at least $20 million to build a really distinctive road," he said, and pointed out that it could be used only by those who could afford a car. "If a trolley line was placed upon it so that the plain people could use it, it would be valuable and useful . . . But it would not be a memorial of Abraham Lincoln."

Other members accused Lincoln highway supporters of being more concerned about roads than honoring Lincoln. The fundraising letter stated that the road would become the nucleus of a national highway system, Rep. John Stephens of Texas noted, warning that "it would be an entering wedge for the appropriation of hundreds of millions for public roads."

At one point, Rep. Henry Cooper of Wisconsin rushed onto the floor waving a telegram and asked to be heard. He said he'd just received the telegram from an official of the Grand Army and that the group had endorsed the memorial in Potomac Park, contrary to Borland's claim. The news caused some commotion.

After five hours of debate, the opposition collapsed. Many road advocates ended up not voting. Brown's cost estimate turned out to be the fatal blow. Other members had proposals of their own. But Bacon's memorial was their second choice. It passed the House overwhelmingly. The chamber erupted in applause. Shelby Cullom, Lincoln's friend, wept with joy. An agreement to build the Lincoln Memorial had finally been reached more than 10 years after Charles McKim drove a stake in the ground marking the spot along the Potomac River where it would stand.

CANNON RETURNED TO CONGRESS IN 1915. Not long after, Brown ran into him on a streetcar and sat down next to him. He congratulated Cannon on his reelection and then asked how he liked the Lincoln Memorial now that it was taking shape.

"I have been in many fights -- some I have lost, many I have won. It may have been better if I had lost more," Cannon replied, according to Brown's memoir. "I am pleased I lost the one against the Lincoln Memorial." Cannon went on the House floor later and publicly acknowledged that he was wrong to have ever opposed the monument.

"We tenderfeet . . . perhaps ought not to have our way in matters of art," he conceded. "Looking through hindsight, I am inclined to think the Art Commission and the majority of the Memorial Commission located this memorial where it ought to be located."

Susan Mandel is a freelance journalist in Arlington. She can be reached at susantamara@yahoo.com.